ATMS Technology Club in Local Newspaper

The Archdale-Trinity News ran the front page article "ATMS Students Create Ideas In Animation" on May 22. The article talks about a guest speaker, Doctor Dobson, who created the game, Snood, how the students helped create the NCAECT presentation (see earlier blog entries for student videos), and how I will be going to Duke University during the summer to learn more about Alice, the object-oriented free software program for an animation and video game introduction to programming, at the "Adventures in Alice" workshop sponsored by the National Science Foundation.

What was really cool happened after the article went to press. I found out that a representative of DPI, Department of Public Instruction, liked what he saw and will be attending the Duke University workshop to see if there is a way to add a middle school pre-programming class to the NC curriculum.

NCAECT 2008 Presentation

Thirty seven teachers attended our NCAECT "Alice- the Free, Fun & Easy Way to Introduce Students to Programming" class. As Jill Nelson and I presented the teachers seemed enthusiastic and interested in Alice and asked a lot of good questions. Carnegie Mellon donated Alice, animation/video game software, free of charge and it can be download at http://www.alice.org/.

Everyone enjoyed the Prentice Hall book give away. They generously donated 4 Alice text books door prizes.

One question that was discussed was how the students could show their work on the Internet. Alice animation will play on computers that have downloaded Alice. Our student videos were created by the students playing their Alice animations on a Smartboard and using the record feature which records their Alice videos as a avi format. Soon to be released Alice 2.2 will have a record feature built into it. If you can't wait that long I just read an interesting blog at http://segatech.us/ (March 19, 2008) that tells about free online tools for transforming files. I haven't tried them yet but they are located at Media Convert and Zamzar.

Miss Witkowski talks about "Girls and Computers"


Miss Nelson talks about "How Easy Alice is To Learn Programming"

Creating in a new world

Aaron is creating a new world using animation.



(Note- Parental release is on file allowing Aaron to share his creativity)

Aaron may also be creating in a new world when he graduates from college in 2016. I read Marc Prensky's article "Programming: The New Literacy" in February's Edutopia magazine and agreed with his premise that in the near future literate adults will need to know how to program to some degree.

He provides many examples supporting his claim. One of his most compelling examples was when he explained that back in the Middle Ages when there were only a few literate people who knew how to read people had to hire people to write letters for them and to read letter to them. Today many people hire Geek Squads to install and show them how to use their new electronic devices.

I have read several articles which point to an increased emphasis on programming in the future. The video game industry made more money than the motion picture industry last year. Homeland Security and the Armed Forces are using video games to train their employees/soldiers. The iphone's success and the placement of electronics in our cars and homes all signal a need to understand a minimal amount of programming.

The free Alice software donated by Carnegie Mellon University is a fun and easy way to start you journey into the programming world.

Both Girls and Boys Enjoy Alice Software

What's really great about Alice software is its flexibility. There are so many templates that both girls and boys can find items of interest. While most boys gravitate toward the "war" game scenario, most girls like the "non-violent" games. Pamella created a race car game and spent a lot of time creating a realistic setting for it. (A parent release form is on file giving permission for Pamella to describe her game.)

Student Testimonial

I could talk all day about how great Alice is but I think the message is stronger coming from students. The students filmed each other using a flip camera. Look for more testimonials in upcoming blogs.

FYI: Parents signed release forms allowing their children to tell you how much they like Alice.

Alice- the Free, Fun, and Easy Way to Introduce Students to Programming

The description in the 2008 NCAECT (NC Association of Educational Communication and Technology) Conference program will read:
Alice is a FREE animation/programming software program donated by Carnegie Mellon University. It encourages students especially girls and minorities to learn programming in a fun way. They create animation and/or video games as they learn concepts. Studies show students using Alice continue and succeed in future programming classes. http://alice.org/. Please bring your lap top for a more interactive experience.

FAQs about the Presentation

1. Do I need to know anything about programming?
No. You do "not" need to know anything about programming to come to the presentation. The program was originally created for at-risk students and is very easy to learn. We are purposefully "not" going to use a lot of programming "jargon" during the presentation to make it accessible (and less intimidating) for everyone. So when we say look at this "dragon object" non-programmers will know we are talking about the dragon and programmers will know that the dragon is an "object" in programming lingo.

2. Do I need to bring a laptop?
No. You do "not" need to bring a laptop but it would be more fun if you did. Part of the presentation is walking the audience through a demo where they make a dragon fly. If you do not have a laptop you would have to be a more passive observer.

3. Is the software truly FREE?
Yes. Carnegie Mellon University has donated this software so more students will get excited about computer programming. It even comes with free tutorials. Of course, there are several excellent textbooks you can purchase that would assist you and your class if you choose to teach this class/activity at your school. Prentice Hall has donated 4 textbooks worth over $200 to give away as door prizes.

4. What grade level is Alice geared toward?
The great thing about Alice is that you can make it as simple or as advanced as you want to make it. I use Alice as an after school activity for my middle school students. Alice is also taught in high school and at Universities.

5. How can I find out more about Alice?
You can look at the Alice site at http://alice.org/. If you have questions wou can email me at ewitkowski@randolph.k12.nc.us or you can read my Learn Alice blog at http://learnalice.blogspot.com/

6. What kind of information will be on the Learn Alice blog?
We plan to make the presentation fun and easy so a lot of the "data" and other interesting educational pedagogy facts and discussions will be discussed on the blog. Think of it like the commentary on a dvd. You really do not need to know the behind the scene facts to enjoy the movie, but once you see the movie you may want to know more about it.

The current post on the Learn Alice blog is "Are we leaving our gifted students behind?" Your insight and comments are welcome. See you at the conference, Elaine Witkowski